Harry Potter Pumpkin Pasties Recipe

4.54 from 111 votes

Harry Potter's famous pumpkin pasties sold in the Hogwarts Express. Flaky crust and a delicious spicy-sweet pumpkin filling.

Prep Time45

Cook Time20

Total Time1 5

Course: Pies and Cheesecakes

Cuisine: English

Servings:

Calories: 123kcal

Author: Adina

Pastry: (Note 1, 2)
175 g all-purpose flour 6.2 oz/ 1 ½ cups
1 tablespoon granulated sugar leave out when you want to make a savory pie or pastry
a pinch of salt
140 g unsalted butter 5 oz/ ½ cup + 2 tablespoons (Note 3)
2-3 tablespoons very cold water
Alternative: 1 ready-made pie crust
Filling:
100 g pumpkin puree 3.5 oz/ scant ½ cup, homemade or from a can (not pumpkin pie filling)
¼ teaspoon cinnamon
a pinch of allspice
a pinch of cardamom
a pinch of nutmeg
1 tablespoon granulated sugar
Egg wash:
1 egg yolk
2 tablespoons milk

Cool butter: Cut the butter into small cubes, place them in one layer on a plate, and put them in the freezer for about 15 minutes; they should not be frozen but get really cold.
Mix flour, sugar, and salt in the food processor/stand mixer.
Add butter cubes and process shortly, about 10 pulses, but it depends on the machine you are using. The dough should resemble breadcrumbs.
Sprinkle with 2 tablespoons of icy water, and pulse a few times again until the dough comes together. Add the third tablespoon of water if necessary; sometimes I do add it, sometimes not; it depends on how exactly you weigh the flour and sometimes on the brand of the flour itself. The dough should hold together when you press a little bit of it between your fingers.
Refrigerate: Form a ball, divide it into two portions, press each piece into a disc and wrap the discs tightly in plastic foil. You will only need one portion to make about 15 pasties. Refrigerate for at least 2 hours or overnight.
Alternatively, you can use a ready-made sweet shortcrust pastry.

If you want to make your pumpkin puree, halve and deseed a small pumpkin. Place the halves on a baking tray and bake at 200 degrees Celsius/ 400 degrees Fahrenheit for about 35-45 minutes or until the pumpkin is soft. Let cool a little, remove the skin, and puree the pumpkin flesh in the food processor.
To make the filling, you will only need about 100 g/ 3.5 oz/ ½ cup of it.
Mix 100 g/ 3.5 oz/ ½ cup pumpkin puree with the spices and set aside.

When ready to roll the dough, preheat the oven to 200 degrees Celsius/400 degrees Fahrenheit.
Roll dough: Sprinkle the working surface with a bit of flour and roll one of the refrigerated dough discs, about 3 mm / 0.12 inches thick.
Cut dough circles using a pastry cutter or the edge of a glass. My circles had a diameter of 8 cm/ 3.1 inches, and the resulting pasties were small. After rolling the remaining scraps a couple of times as well, I had 15 pasties.
Fill pasties: Spoon about ½ teaspoon of the filling on one side of the pastry circles, dab the pastry edges with a wet finger and fold the other side over. You will now have the half-moons.
Crimp: Press the edges with a fork to crimp and close them.
Cut vents: Using a small sharp knife, cut some tiny slits on top to create vents. I cut the vents in the form of Harry's scar, but you don't have to do that; an ordinary X will suffice.
Place the pasties on a baking tray lined with baking paper.

Egg wash: Mix the egg yolk with the milk. Brush the pasties.
Bake for about 15 to 20 minutes until nicely golden.
Let cool on the baking tray for about 5 minutes, then carefully transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.

Always use a digital kitchen scale in baking; it ensures the best results (Amazon affiliate link).
You will not use it all, but the pastry freezes very well, making a smaller amount is possible, but not really worth it.
European style butter is best; it has less water.